St Peter's Festival programme announced

ST PETER'S Flower Festival gets underway next week, with a carpet of flowers, concerts and exhibitions.

The four day annual festival opens on Thursday, June 25, at 10am in St Peter's Church in Bexhill Old Town, where a carpet of flowers up the central aisle will depict St Peter along with signs and symbols of worship. At 12.30pm St Peter and St Paul School will give a free concert.

Over the road in the Community Centre there will be exhibitions from Bexhill Photographic Society and Bexhill Artists' Workshop, as well as a book sale and display of dolls houses.

Refreshments, including lunch, will be available during the day, which lasts until 5pm, then starts again at 7pm for a concert by Amanda Lacey Theatre Arts, including individual performances from young people, Julie George's choirs and Bexhill Youth Choir.

The Community Centre and the Church are both open from 10am-5pm over the four days, with later openings for events such as concerts.

On Friday June 26, St Peter's Church hosts St Mary's School, Wrestwood Road, for a free concert at 12.30pm.

Later, at 7pm, there will be a recital by Jeremy Vinogradoff, baritone, and Nancy Cooley, piano. Their programme includes work by Schubert and Mendelssohn. Supper will be available afterwards, but tickets for the event must be booked in advance.

Saturday sees St Peter's Choir and singers give a concert of popular choral classics conducted by Peter Dutton. The event begins at 7pm.

One of the highlights of the festival runs throughout Saturday.

Visitors to the church will be able to learn about bells and bellringing, hear demonstrations, and have a go themselves.

From 10am-4pm the bellringers will stage an exhibition and demonstrate the art of campanology - the study of bells. This discipline includes the technical aspects of bells - how they are cast and tuned - as well as the skill of ringing.

Split-screen video technology will show what happens to a bell when the rope is pulled, and an exhibition of what is involved will teach more of the background to the ancient art.

Over the weekend a number of Open Gardens close to the Church open from 2pm-4.30pm.

These include Rimswell Cottage and Lolesworth in Church Street, and West Lodge in Hastings Road.

Chantry Farm, also on Church Street, will offer cream teas and a string quartet on Saturday, and dancers from King Offa on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, St Peter's Church Patronal Festival takes place in the Church. There will be a joint Eucharist at 9.45am and choral evensong at 6pm for Churches Together in Bexhill. This will be followed by a party in the Community Centre.

For further information on the festival programme contact the Community Centre on 219908, 9am-12noon Mon-Fri.

St Peter's ringers are also looking for recruits to strengthen the band. For more information contact Roy Cox on 211473. The ringers practice Tuesday 7.30 to 9pm.